The telecom unit of Kuwaiti investment firm Noor Financial Co is looking to raise 53.9 million dinars ($203.3 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) to finance acquisitions, a company executive said. The firm, which is teaming up with France Telecom to expand in the Gulf Arab region, started selling shares on Sunday and is looking to close the sale on about June 5, Noortel's Ayman Al-Bannaw said on Thursday. “We have many investment opportunities in the telecommunication sector that we need more funding to go ahead with,” said Bannaw, adding that it was looking at acquisitions in Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Bannaw said the firm signed a deal with France Telecom to bid for a fixed-line licence and mobile licence in the Gulf Arab region, declining to name the countries. Noortel, set up in 2007, failed to win the third Kuwait mobile license in November which went to the region's largest mobile operator Saudi Telecommunications Co. The share sale is open to institutions and individuals from all nationalities through Kuwait Finance House and would increase Noortel's capital to 100 million dinars, Bannaw said. The company may list on both the Kuwait stock exchange and the Dubai International Financial Exchange, he said. The sale could close before June 5 should it raise the required funds, Naser Al-Marri, managing director of Noor Financial said. Noortel will offer 490 million shares at 100 fils each and a 10 fils premium, equivalent to 49 percent of the company's share capital. Noor Financial and other associate companies will own the remaining 51 percent of the firm, Bannaw said. The Sharia-compliant firm invests in telecommunication opportunities in emerging markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to its website. Meanwhile, Kuwait let the dinar rise to its highest level against the dollar in at least 26 years on Thursday as continued weakness in the US currency highlights the shortcomings of dollar pegs in other Gulf oil producers. The dinar rose 0.41 per cent to a mid
